royal sufferer were willing to shrink. proached his bed, and leaning over the king, explained to him that all help from human aid was now vain; that it was meet for him to think over his past life, and seek for God's mercy through Christ. Contrary to expectation, he thanked him for his fidelity, and expressing much contrition for his many and aggravated sins, declared his hope of pardon through Christ. It was then suggested, that he should confer with some divines, and Henry replied," With no other but Archbishop Cranmer, and not with him as yet. Let me repose a little, and as I find myself, I will determine." After an hour's sleep he awoke, and becoming faint, commanded that Cranmer, who was then at Croydon, should be sent for with all haste. By the time he arrived the sovereign was speechless, yet he knew him, and taking him by the hand, appeared to hear the words of the archbishop, who earnestly exhorted him to place all his hopes of salvation in God's mercy through his Saviour, and besought him, if not in words, at least by some sign, to testify his hope. The king upon this regarded him steadily for a moment, wrung his hand, and expired.*
It may be doubted whether, in the wide range of English history, there is to be found any monarch whose moral features, upon minute examination, become more harsh and repulsive than Henry the Eighth. Vain, capricious, profligate, and tyrannical, he seems, even in the generous season of youth, to have exhibited but few indications of a better mind; and these promises soon withered under the influence of that greatest curse of princes, the early possession of supreme power. It was this that acted Godwin, p. 207. Rapin, p. 102.
so fatally upon a heart, from the first intensely selfish, never disciplined by misfortune, and which, experiencing no check to unlimited enjoyment, became early the abject slave of its passions. It is this same omnipotence of his own will, fostered in an extraordinary degree by the subserviency of his parliaments, the servility of his nobles, and the timid acquiescence of his people, which produced, as he advanced in years, that portentous combination of sensuality and intolerance, from which the mind painfully and instinctively recoils.
Turning from the prince to the people, to the power of its great legislative assembly, the consideration possessed by the Upper House, or the protection enjoyed by the citizens, we find the retrospect equally mortifying. Reasoning from what they did to what they might have done, it may be questioned whether any outrage upon the law, or any infringement, however gross, upon the property and liberty of the subject, was not likely, under this reign, to have found a sanction in Parliament and on the bench. It is not indeed to be forgotten, that the law itself was, in many respects, in a degraded state-often unjust, loose, informal, and affording an easy handle to tyranny, without being perverted from its established course; yet, even with this allowance, the history of the period affords repeated examples to corroborate the remarks here made.
But perhaps the most striking feature in those times is the contrast presented between the great results which were brought to pass by Divine Providence, during the course of this reign, and the character of the instruments employed to work out these beneficent designs. If we look to the most eminent and powerful men of the age, we
[1547. find in most of them a lamentable contradiction between their profession and their practice; in their letters, the purest expositions of revealed truth; in their actions, a reckless disregard of it, little or no value set on human life, a familiarity with conspiracy; encouragements held out to assassination, and a full admission of that flagrantly-wicked principle, that the end justifies the means. Yet by these persons it was that the ancient strongholds of error and superstition were successfully assailed; by their efforts that the despotism of Papal infallibility was shook off; the Scriptures communicated to the people in their own language, and the light of Divine truth let in upon the cold and comfortless twilight which covered the human mind.
Religion had rather convinced the reason than converted the heart of the age; upon which some of the worst features of feudalism were yet discernible in fresh and prominent relief. It remained, alas! it still remains for us to see its blessed effects, in the dissemination of that universal charity which is the fulfilment of the law,-which, once established in its sweet and all-pervading influences, would convert this world from an arena, stained with the blood of contending sects, and ringing with the din of spiritual polemics, into that blessed retreat of peace and love, to which angels might delight to come on their errands of mercy, and where man might enjoy some little antepast of Heaven.
ADRIAN, tutor to Charles V. page 103. Elected Pope, by the title of Adrian VI. 147. His death, 178. Annats, or First Fruits, abolished by Parliament, 318.
Anne, Princess, of Cleves, arrives in England,417. Is married to Henry, 418; and afterwards divorced, 426. Arran, Earl of, made Regent of Scotland, 437.
Arthur, Prince, Henry's elder bro- ther, is married to the Princess Ca- therine of Spain, 10. His death, 14. Aske, Robert, heads a rebellion in Yorkshire, 389.
Askew, Mrs Anne, is tried, and con- demned to be burnt, 453-455.
Barnes, Dr, his dispute with Bishop Gardiner, 419. Is committed to the Tower, 420.
Barton, Andrew, is killed in a naval action with the English, 46. Barton, Elizabeth, called the Holy Maid of Kent, her imposture, 338. Is tried and executed, 339. Bayard, Chevalier, is made prisoner by the Constable Bourbon, 61. His interview with Henry and Maxi- milian, ib. Falls in the battle of Rebec, 176.
Beaton, Cardinal, 431, 436. He per- secutes the Reformers, 438, 448. Seizes and condemns Wishart,449. Plot formed against him; his as- sassination, ib.
Bible, every church to be provided with a copy for the use of the peo- ple, 411. Only to be read by gen- tlemen and gentlewomen, 439. Bilney, Thomas, is burnt at Smith- field for heresy, 315. Boleyn, Anne, 237. Her first ap- pearance at court, and attractive accomplishments, 238. Henry be- comes enamoured of her, 240. Her influence with the king ex- erted against Wolsey, 273. Is cre- ated Marchioness of Pembroke, and attends the king to Boulogne, 320. Her marriage to him, 327; and coronation, which is accom- panied by magnificent pageants,
330-335. Gives birth to a prin- cess, 337. Her premature delivery of a male child, 368. Is basely ac- cused, ib.; and committed to the Tower, 369. Her touching letter to Henry, 370. Cruelty with which she is treated, 373. Is arraigned on a charge of high treason, 374. Her trial and eloquent defence, 375. Is pronounced guilty,376. Her execution, 381. Reflections, 382. Bonner, Bishop,sent envoy to Rome; his audience of the Pope, 335. Bourbon, Constable of France, his de- fection, and character, 172. Gains the battle of Rebec, 176. His plans for placing the crown of France on Henry's head, 183, 191. Invades France, but is obliged to retreat, 184. Takes Francis I. prisoner in the battle of Pavia, 185. Slain
in the assault upon Rome, 221. Buckingham, Duke of, his quarrel with Wolsey, 125. His character, 126. His trial and execution, 127-129.
Cabot, Sebastian, his voyage of dis- covery in 1517, 84. Campegio, Cardinal, is appointed the Pope's legate, and conjoined with Wolsey to decide in the divorce, 251. His arrival in England, and meeting with Henry, ib. He art- fully prolongs the proceedings, 266; which are closed by adjourn- ing the cause, 268. His departure from England, 271.
Catherine, Princess, of Spain, her marriage to Prince Arthur, 10; after his death to Henry VIII. 22. Her conduct on occasion of the meditated divorce, 255. In- terview with Campegio and Wol- sey, 257. Appears in court; her pathetic address to Henry, 262. Firm reply to his message, 315. Final sentence pronounced in the cause of the divorce, 328. Her deportment on the occasion, 330. Her death, 364. Cavendish accompanies Wolsey to France, 231. His description of the manners of the times, 232.
Carries the tidings of Wolsey's death to Henry, 289. Charles the Fifth, his character, abi- lities, and vast ambition, 101-107. Elected emperor, 110. Visits Eng- land, 117. His reception by Henry, 118. His political address, 125. Again visits England; reception by Wolsey and Henry, 148. Is en- tertained with jousts and pageants, 149. Conduct after the battle of Pavia, and capture of Francis I. 188. Letter to the Pope and to the college of cardinals, 226. Con- cludes a treaty with France, 447. Church of England is finally sepa- rated from that of Rome, 336. Church-lands, sale of, to laymen; evils of lay-impropriators, 407. Clement VII., Pope, is forced to flee to the castle of St Angelo, 221. He recovers his liberty, 248. Appoints Wolsey and Campegio to decide in the divorce, 249-251. Revokes the commission of the legates, and re- serves the cause to be tried in his own court, 267. His letter to Henry, 317. Annuls Cranmer's judgment in the divorce, and pub- lishes his Bull of excommunication against Henry, 335. Pronounces sentence against the divorce, 336. His death, 355.
Clergy, the, proceedings against, 309. They acknowledge the king's supremacy, 311, 341. Their al- leged treason pardoned by Hen- ry, 313. Immense revenues, 359. Colet, Dean, founds St Paul's School, 13, 33. His history and character, 34. His public lectures and inter- view with Henry, 36. Bold ser- mons against the Romish clergy, 38. He improves the system of education, 40. His death, 112. Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter, Sir Edward Neville, and Sir Nicholas Carew, are tried for treason, and executed, 399.
Coverdale, Miles, publishes the first
English translation of the whole Bible, 411.
Cranmer, Thomas, rise of, 293. Is consulted by Henry on the divorce, 294. His early history and theo- logical studies, 295. Is appointed royal chaplain, 297. Accompanies the Earl of Wiltshire to Rome, 300. His consecration as Archbi- shop of Canterbury, 324. Holds a convocation, and pronounces final sentence in the divorce; also, a court at Lambeth,and confirms the king's marriage with Anne Boleyn,
329, 330. His letter to Henry, interceding for Anne Boleyn, 373. Second letter, 377. Pronounces the king's marriage invalid, 378. His opinion as to the disposing of the wealth of the monasteries, 406. Exertions for the diffusion of the Sacred Scriptures, 413. Letter to Henry, in favour of Cromwell, 424. Plot against him,-Henry warns him of his danger, 441. second plot, 442. The king again makes him aware of it, 443. called before the council, 444. He triumphs over his enemies, 445. Croke, Richard, his knowledge of the Greek language, and efforts for its advancement, 207.
Cromwell, Thomas, his early pur- suits and character, 305. Inter- view with Henry, 307. Appointed vicar-general, 357. Proposes a dis- solution of the monasteries, 358. Iniquitous conduct, 400. Views re- garding the revenues of the mo- nasteries, 405, 407. Negotiates a marriage between Henry and the Princess Anne of Cleves, 417. Created Earl of Essex; his disgrace and fall, 422, 423. His supplicating letter to the king, 424. Attainder and execution, 424, 425. His cha- racter, 425.
D. Dacre, Lord, his intrigues with the Scottish nobles, 169.
Edward VI. birth of, 390. Elizabeth, Princess, birth of, 337. Empson and Dudley are tried and condemned to the pillory, 25. England, revival of classical learn- ing in, 13, 30-33. Discontent and resistance of the people, 169, 193, 388. State of religious parties, 394. Erasmus, his picture of Henry at school, 11. His character of Arch- bishop Warham, 17. Is invited to England by Henry; reception at court, 30. Description of the state of education; attachment to Sir Thomas More, 353.
Erudition for a Christian Man, or the King's Book, 439. Europe, state of, in 1510, 26. Revival of literature, 43, 86. State of, in 1521 and 1526, 138, 220. Public opinion on the subject of the Pope- dom, 243.
Ferdinand of Arragon, death of, 80. Field of the Cloth of Gold, 121. Fisher, Bishop, his bold speech in
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